Securing heel-breast covering flaps to shoes



Aug. 15, 1939. T. B. CLARKE El AL SECURING HEEL-BREAST COVERiNG FLA PS T0 SHOES Filed Nov. 8, 1957 Patented Aug. 15, 1939 SECURING HEEL-BREAST COVERING FLAPS TO SHOES Thomas Baggott Clarke and Leslie Ernest Short, Leicester, England, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application November 8, 1937, Serial No. 173,284 In Great Britain December 9, 1936 3 Claims. (Cl. 12125) This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes and is illustrated herein with reference to a method of and a clamping device for applying heel-breast covering flaps to shoes.

a resilient pad, and means for causing said pad to force the saddle with considerable pressure against the portion of the flap overlying the shank portion of the sole and the projecting por- 5 Invthe manufacture of shoes having Louis heels tion of the breast of the heel and also to force it is common practice to cover the breast of the the flap with considerable pressure against the attached heel of the shoe by a flap which is split lower portion of the breast of the heel. from the graimside of the heel end of the sole As will appear from the detailed description of the shoe. In order that heel-breast receiving which follows, the saddle serves to distribute over shoulders may be conveniently formed upon the the portion of the sole near the forward end of attached sole of the shoe and in order -to enable the split the pressure which is applied through the operator to form a smooth joint between the it and obviates the frequent substitution of pads lip of the heel and the shank portion of the sole of diiferent shapes and sizes. of the shoe it is common practice to split the The various features and advantages of the inflap a considerable distance forward of the heelvention will be understood and appreciated from breast line of the sole. The flap is later secured the following detailed description read in conto the shank portion of the sole of the shoe and nection with the accompanying drawing, in which to the breast of the heel through the use of a Fig. 1 shows in side elevation the illustrated suitable adhesive. device and a shoe clamped in said device;

2 A device for effectively clamping breast flaps Fig. 2 is a view on line IIlI of Fig. 1;

in place against shoes while the adhesive which Fig. 3 is an illustrative view showing the heelis commonly applied to the flap and to the heel breast covering flap clamped against the shoe dries, is disclosed in British Letters Patent No. in the clamping device; and 202,574. Such a device operates satisfactorily on Fig. 4 is an enlarged view showing portions of shoes in which the flap-forming splitin the sole the mechanism for operating the saddle.

extends only a, short distance forward of the heel- A plurality of the illustrated clamping devices, breast line of the shoe. Said device, however, which are similar in many respects to the clampdoes not operate effectively on different sizes ing devices disclosed in said British Letters Paand shapes of shoes the flaps of which are split ent No. 202,574, may be advantageously mounted considerable distances forward of the heel-breast upon a turret (not shown) of the machine dislines of the shoes, without selectively substitutclosed in. British Letters Patent No. 343,151. ing rubber pads of different sizes and shapes for The base 20 of the illustrated clamping device the rubber pad of the device which forces the comprises a. pedestal 22 provided with a pin 24 flap against the shank portion of the sole and (Fig. 1) shaped to fit in a recess 26 formed in the breast of the heel. the cone of a last 28 upon which is mounted a It is an object of this invention to provide an shoe 30. As above stated, it is common practice improved clamping device of the general type to split from the grain side of the heel end of disclosed in British Letters Patent No. 202,574 the sole 32 of the shoe a heel-breast covering flap by the use of which heel-breast covering flaps 34 (Fig. 3) extending a considerable distance forextending considerable distances forward of the ward of the heel-breastline 36 of the sole. After heel-breast lines of shoes of various sizes and the lip 38 of the heel and the rear end of the shapes can be clamped effectively against the shank portion of the sole of the shoe have been shank portions of the soles and against the properly jointed the flap 34 is secured to the breasts of the heels of the shoes without having to shank portion of the sole and to the breast of the change the pads of the device. heel through the use of a suitable adhesive.

With the above object in view, and in accordance with a feature of this invention, there is provided a clamping device comprising a support for a shoe, a saddle conformable to the shank portion of the sole of the shoe and to the projecting portion of the breast of a heel attached to the shoe, means for causing the saddle to force a covering flap split from the sole of the shoe against the shank portion of the sole and the projecting portion of the breast of the heel,

Pivoted upon the opposite ends of a rod 40 (Figs. 1 and 2) secured to the base 20 of the clamping device are a. pair of depending arms 42 riveted to offset levers 44 having recesses for receiving studs 46 (Figs. 1 and 3) secured to a header 48 (Fig. 3). Mounted upon the studs 46 and positioned outside the respective levers 44 are a pair of plates 50 riveted to the lower ends of a leather saddle 52 which is about two inches wide and approximately one-eighth of an inch thick. The upper portion of the saddle 52 is molded to approximately the shape of the portion. of the shoe with which it is to engage, and the forward portion 54 (Fig. 3) of the saddle is beveled so that its outer face merges with the covered breast of the heel.

Interposed between the ends of the header 48 and the levers 44 are spring washers 56 (Fig. 4) which cause friction between the plates 50 on the one hand and the levers 44 and the heads of the studs 46 on the other hand, thereby preventing the plates 50 and the lower ends of the saddle from moving freely about the studs 46. The levers 44 are normally urged in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 1) by springs 58, the rear ends of which are secured to a bracket 68 screwed to the base 20 of the machine and the forward ends of which are secured to the lower ends of the depending arms 42. Movement of the arms 42 in a clockwise direction is limited by the engagement of the header 48 (Fig. 4) with the face 62 (Fig. l) of the base 28.

In the operation of the machine disclosed in said British Letters Patent No. 343,151 equipped with a plurality of clamping devices such as illustrated herein, the operator takes from a steam stand (not shown) of the machine. a shoe which has been allowed to remain upon the stand long enough to cause the adhesive on the flesh side of the flap and the breast of the heel to become tacky and the material of the flap to become softened, and places the last 28 upon which the shoe is mounted, upon the pin 24. The operator then lays the breast flap 34 against the shank portion of the sole of the shoe and the breast of the heel and smooths the flap upon the breast by the use of a rub-stick, after which the saddle 52 is placed upon the shoe in the position illustrated in Fig. 1. In placing the saddle 52 on the shoe, the operator preferably grasps the opposite sides of the saddle, raises the saddle until its upper end can be moved over the heel, and then allows the spring 58 to draw the saddle down against the shoe. The saddle 52 tends to hold the heel portion of the cone of the last 28 against the pedestal 22 thereby preventing the forepart of the shoe from tipping forward. After placing the saddle 0n the shoe the operator usually pounds against the saddle with a hammer thereby causing the flap to be forced with considerable pressure against the shank portion of the sole of the shoe and the projecting portion of the breast of the heel. The pressure of the saddle 52 against the shoe tends to retain the effects of the above-mentioned pounding operation. The saddle 52, which adopts itself to the lateral curvatures of the different lasts and thus assists in conforming the sole and the applied flap to the last, protects the breast flap from being marred during the pounding operation.

After positioning the saddle 52 over the shank portion of the sole and the forwardly projecting portion of the breast of the heel and pounding against the saddle as above described, a pair of rubber pads 64, 66 similar to the pads disclosed in said British Letters Patent No. 202,574, are positioned adjacent to the rear and breast faces respectively of the heel and are then forced with considerable pressure against said faces. The pad 64 is carried by a holder 68 pivoted to the upper ends of a pair of links 10, and the pad 66 is carried by a holder 12 pivoted to the upper ends of another pair of links 14. Right and left pairs of links 10, 14 are pivoted together at their central portions, the lower portions of said links being pivoted to links 16 connected to a hand lever 18. The hand lever 18 is hinged at its rear ends upon the rods 48 and carries a pair of pawls 80 which may be forced into engagement with the ratchet teeth 82 formed upon a forward extension of the base 20 and which are normally held away from the ratchet teeth by leaf springs 84.

The pads 64, 66 are moved downward and toward each other to force the same against the breast and rear faces of the heel by depressing the hand levers 18, which may be locked in its lowered position, by swinging the pawls 88 into engagement with the ratchet teeth 82. As the pad 64 is moved downward it forces the saddle 52 against the shank portion of the sole of the shoe and the forwardly projecting portion of the breast of the heel and also forces the flap 34 against the lower portion of the heel breast. The operator ceases to depress the hand lever 18 when the pads 64, 66 have been forced with sufficient pressure against the shoe.

After the operator has clamped the shoe in one of the illustrated clamping devices incorporated in the machine disclosed in said British Letters Patent No. 343,151 he trips a clutch of the machine thereby causing said clamping device to be moved away from a loading station and causing another clamping device which carries a shoe and has passed around the machine to bemovedtosaid loading station. The operator then proceeds to remove the shoe from the clamping device which has been swung around to its loading position, by depressing the hand lever 18 and causing the pawls to be moved by the springs 84 away from the ratchet teeth 82, and then raising the hand lever and the pads 84, 66 so that the latter may be swung forward and downward into an inop erative position. The saddle 52 is then removed from the shoe by grasping it at each side of the shoe and raising it so that it may be moved forward away from the shoe, the saddle when being lowered by the action of the springs 58. Downward movement of the header 48 (Fig. 4), as has been explained above, is limited by engagement with the face 62 (Fig. 1) of the base of the machine. If desirable the shoe 30 and the saddle 52 may be raised together, the forepart of the shoe being raised with a vertical turning movement so that the heel passes out of the saddle when the shoe has been raised above the top of the last pin 24. The operator then takes another shoe from the steam stand and places it in the clamping device.

The illustrated clamping device may be advantageously used in operating upon a shoe the breast flap of which extends just forward of the heel-breast line of the shoe, since the saddle 52 affords protection for the shoe during the pound ing operation in addition to other benefits such, for example, as distributing the pressure of the pad 64 over the portion of the breast flap which covers the shank portion of the sole of the shoe and the projecting portion of the breast of the heel.

Having described the invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a clamping device, a support for a shoe, a saddle conformable to the shank portion of the sole of the shoe and to the projecting portion of the breast of a heel attached to the shoe, means for causing said saddle to force a covering flap split from the sole of the shoe against said shank portion of the sole and said projecting portion of the breast of the heel, a resilient pad, and means for causing said pad to force the saddle with considerable pressure against the portion of the flap overlying the shank portion of the sole and the projecting portion of the breast of the heel and also to force the flap against the lower portion of the breast of the heel.

2. In a clamping device, a support for a shoe, a saddle conformable to the shank portion of the sole of the shoe and to the projecting portion of the breast of a heel attached to the shoe, yieldable means for causing said saddle to force a covering flap split from the sole of the shoe against said shank portion of the sole and said projecting portion of the breast of the heel, said saddle having a margin which is beveled to cause the outer face of the saddle to merge with the covered breast of the heel, a resilient pad, and means for causing said pad to force the saddle with considerable pressure against said portion of the flap overlying the shank portion of the sole and the projecting portion of the breast of the heel and also to force the portion of the flap not engaged by the saddle against the lower portion of the breast of the heel.

3. In a clamping device, a support for a shoe comprising a heel and a sole which has been split to provide a heel-breast covering fiap, a saddle conformable to the shank portion of the sole of the shoe and to the projecting portion of the breast of a heel attached to the shoe, yieldable means for urging the saddle rearward and toward the shoe upper to cause the saddle to force the flap against the shank portion of the sole of the shoe and against the projecting portion of the breast of the heel, a resilient pad, means for forcing said pad with considerable pressure against the saddle and against the portion of the flap in engagement with the lower part of the breast of the heel, said pad being movable toward and away from the shoe independently of the saddle to enable the operator to pound against the saddle in order to conform the flap to the projecting portion of the breast of the heel and to conform the shank portion of the sole and the portion of the flap applied thereto to the shape of a last upon which the shoe is mounted, and means for maintaining the pad in clamped relation with the shoe until adhesive used in securing the flap to the shoe dries.

THOMAS BAGGOTT CLARKE. LESLIE ERNEST SHORT. 

